[ThomCat316]

Good day, all!

Our Dakota Diesel + 5th Wheel streamliner plans have been expanded a bit; we're now likely to be full-timing, so the trailer got a foot wider and a hair taller, and tankage and gear requirements for full-time living took the weight past what I am willing to relegate to the Dakota/OM617 combo.

Therefore....

We are in the market for a 1996-98 5.9L 12v Diesel 5-spd. extended cab Dodge Ram 2500, as it has the capacity we would prefer with the fuel economy we want. I occasionally find one out there in 2WD, and there are loads of them available in 4WD. On our recent trip from South Florida to Idaho and back, I had a couple opportunities to ponder whether 4WD is really as unnecessary as I have always thought it to be. I also will be installing a Torsen differential in the Sonoma as soon as practical....

I would like experiences and opinions regarding the 2WD/4WD question, and the best setup for 4WD efficiency.

My thought is that if we are running the 4WD truck in 2WD most of the time, with manual front hub locks, we will be as close as we can get to the drivetrain efficiency of the 2WD drivetrain, while retaining 4H and 4L for getting out of problems.

I am curious about how much mileage is going to be lost in this sort of setup.

The other, more laborious (to use), option is to install a recovery winch on the 2WD truck and hope there is something appropriate to tie out to when needed. This doesn't help out with sketchy roads, but will get us out of an emergency.

Thoughts?

ThomCat316